Arsenal legend Gilberto Silva insists ‘questions have to be asked’ over the Gunners’ pursuit of .
The north club have already seen two offers for the skipper dismissed and a bidding war is set to ensue following confirmation of ’s concrete interest.
Pep Guardiola’s treble winners are prepared to test the waters and rival Arsenal for a player whose potential arrival would immediately offset the impending departure of Ilkay Gundogan.
Rice is still said to favour a move to Arsenal but transfer chief Edu, a former teammate of Gilberto’s at both club and international level, is in danger of paying way over the odds for the 24-year-old.
‘Normally you see this sort of price for strikers, not central midfielders. It feels quite high, even though there is no doubting the quality of the player, but it does feel like a very high price,’ Gilberto told .
When you compare him to other players who play in a similar position and have moved for big money, he offers a different perception and the price is totally different. Ultimately, it will all depend on the needs of the market.
Should Arsenal ultimately miss out on their No.1 target, Gilberto believes Mikel Arteta already has an internal solution to his midfield problems.
He added: ‘Before Arteta thinks about which players he can bring into his team, he needs to consider if he is going to lose players. If he is going to lose players, they will obviously need to bring in new players to replace them.
‘However, I’m thinking maybe another centre-back to keep them fresh for next season after they lost William Saliba.
‘We have also seen Oleksandr Zinchenko rotate between left-back and central midfield, while Tierney has also struggled with injury problems. It was good to see him in the team again after a struggle for the last couple of seasons with fitness.
‘Having Zinchenko play again as a central midfielder I think would be really good for Arsenal – so maybe left-back would be a position they could think about strengthening. But it all depends on Mikel and what he wants.
‘He needs two players like Tierney and Zinchenko fighting for the same position so that it raises the standards.’
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